Kirkcaldy based Fins Competitive Swim Club got their 2025 long course season off to an excellent start last weekend at the Royal Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh, where 11 swimmers competed in the 2nd Round of the Scottish East District Age Group Championships.
Round 2 comprised 50m and 200m in all four individual strokes and the results of the swimmers’ efforts certainly pleased Head Coach, Ian Lewis and Senior Coach, Iain Macdonald, winning seven District Tiles, 6 silver and 5 bronze medals plus a further 18 top 10 placings from a total of 59 swims, with 88% showing improvement. Nine of the eleven swimmers achieved a top 10 placing.
Top swimmer for Fins was Lilian Blair, 13 years female, with four Titles – 50m freestyle, 50m breaststroke, 50m butterfly, and 200m butterfly which she achieved with the largest long course PB by a Fins’ swimmer of 34.86 seconds. Lilian’s silver medals came in the 200m backstroke, 200m breaststroke, and 200m freestyle. In her 200m breaststroke she recorded the 2nd largest PB of 20.16 seconds and in her 200m freestyle, came agonisingly close to a 5th title losing out by just 8 one hundredths of a second, despite another good, but more modest PB of 7.63 seconds.
Millie Whytock, 11/12 years female, recorded PBs in all her eight swims adding a further two District titles in the 50m and 200m backstroke, a silver medal in the 200m freestyle plus four bronze medals in the 50m and 200m butterfly, 50m backstroke, and 200m breaststroke. Millie also finished 10th in the 50m breaststroke.
Fins’ final title was won by Adam Selbie, 15 years male, in the 200m backstroke. Adam won a full set of medals with a silver in the in the 50m backstroke and a bronze in the 200m freestyle. He was also just outside the medals in the 50m butterfly and 50m freestyle. Again, all Adams swims produced PBs including a 4.01 second PB in the50m freestyle which was just 9 one hundredths of a second short of a medal.
Fins’ final medal, a silver, should probably be considered a bonus as it was won by Elliot Blair, 11/12 male. Elliot had a terrific swim to finish in silver medal position, and go under the 3 minute mark, as he is in the lower half of the age group and only one of two 11 year olds competing in the event. Elliot’s other three swims were outside the top10, but not by much, finishing 11th 50m backstroke, 13th in the 50m backstroke, and 14th in the 50m freestyle.
The Swimmers who achieved a top 10 placing were –
Ethan Pate, 14 years male, 5th – 200m butterfly and 6th 200m freestyle. Ethan also finished 11th – 200m backstroke, 12th – 50m freestyle, 13th in the 50m butterfly, 50m breaststroke, and 200m breaststroke, and 19th in the 50m backstroke.
Cole Gray, 13 years male, had all of his four swims in the top 10, 6th – 50m backstroke, 8th – 50m breaststroke, 10th – 50m freestyle and 10th – 50m butterfly.
Irys Blair, 15 years girls, 7th – 50m backstroke, 8th – 200m backstroke, 20th – 50m freestyle, 21st – 200m freestyle, 28th – 50m breaststroke, and 29th – 50m butterfly.
Caleb Gray, 14 years male, 7th – 200m butterfly, 9th – 200m breaststroke, 11th – 200m freestyle, 13th – 200m backstroke, 16th – 50m breaststroke, 19th – 50m butterfly, 24th – 50m backstroke, and 28th – 50m freestyle.
Eva Watson, 14 years female, 9th – 200m butterfly.
The two remaining swimmers were – Finnley McDonald, 16 years male, 13th – 200m freestyle, 19th – 200m backstroke, 21st – 50m freestyle, 25th in both the 50m backstroke and 50m breaststroke, and 26th – 50m butterfly, and Sadie Paton, 13 years female, 22nd – 50m breaststroke.
As mentioned in previous reports, the long course rankings are still at the early formative stage and will take quite a number of years before they reach the 50th mark. So, everyone who recorded a PB, or swam an event for the first time, will have had an impact on the rankings.
However, there are some interesting statistics.
In terms of the rankings the top performer was Adam Selbie, who moves to the highest position in the rankings and that is 4th in the 50m backstroke, and moved into 5th place in the 50m butterfly, 6th in the 50m freestyle moving from 17th, which was the 2nd largest movement, and 6th place from 9th in the 200m freestyle.
Overall, eight of the swims made a top 10 finish the other four coming from – Ethan Pate who recorded a 1.24 second PB to remain in 7th place in the 200m butterfly, Caleb Gray who moves from 9th to 8th, also in the 200m butterfly, Lilian Blair, who moves from 13th to 9th in the 200m breaststroke, and Eva Watson who has the highest entry in 10th place in the 200m butterfly.
Not too far behind with 2nd highest entry was Millie in 12th place again in the 200m butterfly.
The largest movement was by Lillian who moves from 21st to 11th with a 1.44 second PB in the 50m freestyle.
Finally, congratulations to Ian Lewis, who was an original swimming member when the club was formed in 1980 and went on to represent Scotland at both Youth and Senior level and has just completed 25 years as Head Coach with quite a bit of success along the way.
Ken White
Club Press Officer